The Sun. — London, England, 1838-02-10 00:00:00

victor who was an absentee must both benefit. He felt surprised that, after the speeches of the Honourable and Learned Gentleman, and some twenty written letters, that he could not bring come better argument in opposition to the law,Pore'l The distinction drawn between rea l d es tit u ti on it vagrancy, was just and necessary, and even now, if 11 '2.:re to be done away with, the farmer would find himself in circumstances in which lie would be almost compelled to gine relief. There was another consideration which should be looked to, which was that the landlords, having the bur then of Poor-rates upon them, would take a greater interest in local concerns. The improvement of their own estates would meet with more attention, and even those who were most negligent would became more attentive to their interests, so that the labourer would be improved in his condition while improvement was going on in the land. The Honourable and Learned Gentleman had denied that there was any dis tinction between poverty and destitution.—( Hear, hear.) Now he thought that the majority of the poorer population in Ireland were in a condition which might be said to be poor without being destitute —persons who were able to work, and surrounded by those who, if not in wealth, were able to assist there. The Honourable and Learned Gentleman then com plained that relief was to be coupled with the irksome condi tion of an abode in the workhouse, and that the plea of po verty was not of itself to be accepted; and inquired what re medy could be afforded in such cases. He, in reply, said, as he had said before with respect to the English Poor-law, that by means of the Poor-law, there would be a greater demand for labour, and the labourer, instead of receiving low wages would receive high. That was the principle of the law, which tlse H on . an d Learned Gentleman wished to sink, and he thought the House would do right to take care, when the Bill went into Committee, to hold in their own hands the power of enlarging it, but not to extend it at present. From the statement of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman it would be supposed that the measure had altogether emanated from the recommendations of Mr. Nicholl or Mr. Stanley. Now, on the question of recommendation, one of the first passages of the report of the Poor -law Commissioners was to the effect that, upon the best consideration, the Commissioners recom mended legal provision to be made not only to those suffering from permanent bodily infirmity, but to those subject to casual destitution. —[The Noble Lord here read the extract c the report. ] The question had been whether they s o- , lel beneficially afford r e li e f or ot h erw i se , an d t h e re _ V of the i nqu i ry had been that it should be afforded only wn und er certai n c i rcumstances similar to those which regulated t relief un d er the English Bill, and for the same reasons it as proposed in both cases. The Gover nmen t un d ou bt e dl y thought i t necessary in a * case of such importance to take every opini on wort h having, and consult every authority of any weight, both in England and in Ireland—to seek, in short, for every information possible, before they proceeded to found any • system or p l an on the subject. If, with the facts furnished to them, a decision adverse to compulsory 0. e,s ia r t e i l e i n ef ,a e a . d er a e n c in o j m u e ry t t o e , then he sh ou ld d eem it an errorin le the count ry t h ey desired to benefit. That would be the result of the Hon. and Learned Member's amendment. _(Hear. ) Mr. SHAW agreed with the Nole Lord that the time come when som e ki n d of compulsory relief was absolutely s necessary for th e poor of Ireland : and therefore he sh gise his To t e aga i nst the amendment of the Hon. and Lea nt"rnMember f or D u bli n. The Hon. and Learned Member inheids opinion should have borne in mind his notice on the papers of the House, in the last year, on the subject, when he his amend ment t h at night. In the course of the last pyreoapr o t s h e e d Hon, and Learned Gentleman had said that the time had come when it was imperative on the Legislature to grant a Poor -law to I reland ; and he had placed a notice on the papers of the House to that effect. And when the Govern ment measure had superseded the necessity of brit g'n b forward one o f hi s own, he had said that, though he wasas not sanguine as to its success, he should give it his sup port. H e (M r. Shaw) could not conceive why thecause which th en actuated the Honourable and Learned Member should be less potent now, because the condition of Ireland had in nowise changed since then. It was not his opinion that a Poor -law would be a panacea for all the ills of Ireland. The great cause of the poverty of that country was the want of proper employment ; and the measure before the House did not remedy the evil. He agreed with the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, that every impost on property for the supply of the indigent in Ireland was more or less a tax upon incomes de. rived from labour ; but, withal, he felt it his duty, as a rational man, to consider whether, under any circumstances, some step should not at once be taken towards the relief of the poor of Ireland. He fully agreed with the Noble Lord, that poverty was as much the cause as the consequence of turbulence in that country. Under these circumstances, he (Mr. Shaw) felt t h at while, on the one hand, gentlemen should ' draw to themselves no overstrained picture of the probable success of a measure for the relief of poverty in that country, on the . other, none should b e d eterred by any' doubt a s of its feasibility to that eff ect f rom making, at least, it. He fully agreed with the Noble tli Porsrtd, s t t t e m p t t i o t w ar was d s of the greatest importance that that step should be made in the right direction, and that care shouldbe bdeisatpakppenaint expectations were not raised which would erbrween the hereafter. There was an essential differ casts of England and Ireland as regardedenPcoe The people of Ireland were now where the people of in aw l s, had begun more th an two centuries ago. If the Noble toartT right in his p rem i ses, that relief could not be afforded towaalsl the destitute, then he was certainly right to establish the test of workhouses; but the accuracy of these premises he_( Mr. Shaw) di s p ute d . His (Mr. Shaw's) objection to the Bill of the Noble Lord was, not that it was bad in principle, for that he believed to be right, but that it proposed an impossibility— !hat was, it proposed to give relief to all the destitute in Ire land, In looking at the conflicting statements made by the Poor.law Commissioners on the one side, and by Mr. Nicholl and Mr. Stanley on the other, as to the amount of poverty in Ireland—the one stating that there were two millions of pau pers, the others only one--he (Mr. Shaw) could come to no satisfactory conclusion. He was apprehensiv e that the work house test proposed by the Bill would be found insufficient for the purpose for which it was intended. It was true that the Irish character was attached to liberty, and impatient of re straint ; but destitution and physical distress were able to break down any character ; and once the difficulty of subsist ing in workhouses was overcome, the peculiarities of the Irish character also were such as would cause them to endure ever after with patience, and without murmur, any state of degra dation or restraint to which they had been accustomed. It should, however, be always born in mind that the great dif ficulty in England was to make able bodied paupers work ; while in Ireland it was to find work for them to do. —( Hear. ) It might be objected to him (Mr. Shaw) that he wished to provide only for one class; but he would reply, that he had no desire to draw the limits too nicely. He would leave the discrimination of cases to the good feelings of the guar dians; and if one approached near to the other, though it might not absolutely be comprehended within it, he should have nn objection to its inclusion in the benefits of relief. Under all these circumstances, and on the wlianle of the case, it oc curred to him that to give relief to the aged, the impotent, and infirm, within the workhouses, aided by a well-considered system of emigration for the able•bodied—and a comprehen si/e plan of employment in the country on public works of advantage and utility—would be the best measure that could could be adopted. The question now, however, was, whether Ireland was to have a poor law or not.—(Hear, hear.) He believed that there was no one in that House who objected to the principle.—( Hear, hear.) He had, no doubt, objections to some of the details himself—for instance, to the law of se ttlement—to the power of suppressing mendicancy—to the appointment of the Commissioners—and to some others ; but as they more properly belonged to the C omm i ttee h e s h ou ld reserve any observations on them until then. Mr- W. S. O'BRIEN sa id t h at t h e Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin's objection to the Bill before the house was to the principle as well as to the d e t a il s . Th e lion. and Learned Member would have been better employed, and with far more advantage to his country, if, instead of opposing the measure altogether, he had applied the great powers of his mind to amend its details. Year after year were the bitterest complaints made by the farmers of his (Mr. O'Brien's) part of the country against the swarms of Kerry beggars who infested the county.—( Laughter.) He (Mr O'Brien) admitted that private benevolence would be destroyed to a certain extent by a Poor -law, but he denied that it would ever destroy the kindly feelings of the people of Ireland. When the Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin raid that a Poor-law would be a tax alto gether favourable to absentees he Mr. O'Brien could not com prehend the mystification. In his opinion it was the only mea sure which had ever attempted to reach them. But why did not the Hon. and Learned Member bring in a Bill to tax ab sentees ? He believed that pauperism in Ireland had been greatly exaggerated, for it was his decided opinion that it was not near so much as had been stated. The Hon. and Learned Member had attempted to diminish the revenue of Ireland. That was not the course he had adopted on the discussion of the Repeal of the Union. He said then that they were one sixth of the entire revenues of the country. He said now that th ey were on l y t h e one-eleventh part He (Mr. O'Brien) believed that the effect of a well-administered Poor-law would te h to equalise the burthens borne by certain classes in Ireland. .e princ i p a l d e f ect in the Bill before the House he con ci,,,eloivL ed to be it s f oun d at i on on the workhouse test. The attachedle Lord and the commissioners at Somerset House wer sQnt to that test ; but he ( Mr. O'Brien) could never con e notto treat poverty as he would crime. They must QM 2,5 00,000/. on poorhouse erections, and yet would , olie o r e o able doors feed the poor, who would far prefer a o rssll yore ut of . Then, in the event of a famine, e theroseason, masses would go to the workhouse, and remain ebaodoctheir independent means of livelihood having been Pel at i oe " . 0, and thus we should have a permanent pauper po ale, to " to feed. Even mending the roads would be prefer- Eree sr _!?eless unprofitable employment within the workhouse.. sstie;,le,Lion especially should be tried and encouraged ere this tea t of building was resorted to. He objected to the ex- Qoctro_.atlie Unions, and the harassing plan of requiring the ra t ,u: HS to ride fifteen or twenty miles to meetings—ar iet rents which would eventually throw the management tha t b hands of paid officers. The Board of Guardians drisin"ef Proposed would give effect to the valuable results ts e g o. ro .'n the law of settlement without its disadvantages. flat w t hirds of the rate . were to be levied on the landlord the 'tote d °l.l d work far more equitably and satisfactorily. He NU, bg o l v e i _ his unconditional support to the principle of the tll tot hoped to be able to introduce some valuable amend ssommittee. 4r • LU ‘, C S could not agree w i t h t h e H on. and Learned tr iZ r W ho moved th e amen d ment , t h at b ecause Ireland li ef T h countr it should have no Poor-law forthe i re i'llght ° Principle of relief was good in itself, and ts Bill b ° e tae 14e go into Committee where he hoped to introduce 1,;e1,14_, irrt letti not Melt u e l ta a n i t d era4o s ns so in the ' d . etails.. It did not follow that peculiarly circumstenced almsgiving. t'is be a Lurten, as the Hon. an Ld Gen ees d a re 110 ,0 stated—that h therefore the evils of earne mendicancy be removed. Mr. O'CONNE LL—I spoke from the report of the Com missioners of the Poor Law. Mr. LUCAS distinctly understood him to argue that alms were regarded in Ireland, not as a burthen on the givers, from which they would wish to be relieved, but as a contribution volunt . arily appropriated to the purpose, under the peculiar re ligious feelings which pervaded Ireland; and therefore not a thing which it was desirable to interfere with.--(" Hear, hear," from Mr. O'Connell.) Still, however, he thought the majority would be glad that this burthen might be re moved, without any detriment to their religious opinions. He recollected an anecdote illustrative of the matter. A landlord who proposed to whitewash the houses of his tenantry found one very unwilling to receive the favour, and having expressed his surprise that so obvious an improvement should not be ap preciated the owner excused himself, declaring that if his house were whitewashed it would be the ruin of him. It was now passed at a little distance by the beggars in the high road as one from which they scarcely expected anything, but, if marked out to their attention by the signs of improvement, he would be be sieged by all who travelled within sight of it, and never be able to pay his rent.—( Laughter.) The Hon. Member took a tone that night that he ought always to take, and which he would be glad to find him adopting at home— ( Hear, hear)—for all that he said was deeply influential on his countrymen. He had written two letters on this subject in a very different spirit, in which he had inserted some topics that he had omitted that night.__( Hear, hear.) He had therein stated that the poor-rates would diminish wages by lessening the meals of the o c c u pi er . N ow h e (Mr. Lucas) was, from experience, a convert to the very contrary opinion. The subscriptions collected from the wealthy classes both in England and Ireland to relieve the famine in 1817 were but as a drop in the sea compared with the amount contributed in provisions by the Irish farmers and peasantry, high and low, for the same purpose.—(Hear.) . The poor were then in fact saved from starvation by the inexhaustible bounty of the poor farmers. It made no noise in the newspapers. Those only on the spot were aware of it, but it made such an impression on him that he could never forget it; and whatever distur bances broke forth in that unfortunate country—however un popular he might be there—he should never cease to feel and speak with the most unbounded admiration of the une qualled kindness of the poor to the poor in Ireland. Though desirous of removing this burthen from the poor, by establish ing a compulsory assessment, he had some objections to the details, and thought the machinery defective. He objected to the great size of the unions, which were so large that the check of the superintendents would be totally lost, and the number of ratepayers would be unmanageably great. He should show that one-half the occupiers of land in Ireland paid no rent that would subject them to poor-rates. This was clearly proved by the Report of Mr. Nicholl.—[Here the Hon. Member read an extract from the Report, to the effect he had stated.] He believed the details of the Bill would prevent its working. He should therefore propose some amendments in Committee. After a few words from Mr. O'CONNEL L in explanation, Mr. RE DING TON looked upon this measure as calcu lated to lead to a better state of things, and connect the pro prietor of the soil with his tenants. He should vote against the amendment of the Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin, who, he hoped, would lend his great talents to perfect the measure in Committee. There were many changes necessary in the Bill, particularly as to the appointment of Commis sioners and the rate-paying clauses. He, as a landlord, hoped that the proprietors would take the burden of the rates on their own shoulders. Colonel CONOLLY looked upon this measure as a tax upon the neglect of Irish proprietors. He believed the Irish landlords would willingly submit to it, to relieve the distress of the poor of their country. Mr. 0. GORE supported the amendment, and stated that he objected to this Bill for two reasons. The first was the system of workhouses, and the other that of emigration, which its provisions embraced.—( Hear, hear.) He considered that the workhouse principle would be prejudicial to the habits, and utterly subversive of the best feelings of the Irish people. With respect to the rates, in his opinion no rate could be levied in Ireland that would not eventually fall upon the owners of property. He (Mr. 0. Gore) had always had a strong feel ing against emigration, because he considered that by it a country always got rid of what might be justly termed its best seed.—(Hear, hear.) In Ireland there were eleven millions of acres out of cultivation, and! immense numbers of the po pulation of that country were most ready and willing to work, if they were afforded the opportunity. Another objection he had to the Bill, was the principle of centralization. Taking all these things into consideration, he must support the amend ment of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, in the hope of getting rid of the Bill altogether. Mr. LITTON considered that it was impossible to frame a Bill that was not liable to objections of some sort, and he con sidered this measure ought to be allowed to go into Commit tee, if onry on the principle that they were bound to try some remedy for destituti on .—( H ear , h ear .) A,lr. BARRON approved entirely of the principle of the Bill, and agreed with most of its details. He considered it so good a measure as it at present stood that he did not see how it could be materially amended in Committee. With respect to a law of settlement, it would be an absurdity to introduce a measure of giving a settlement without at the same time giving the poor a right to relief. The motion of the Honourable and Learned Member for Dublin should have his most determined and strenuous opposition ; and, with regard to the observa tions of the Hon. Member for Shropshire, relative to the work house system, he could assure the Hon. Gentleman that that system had been already tried in Waterford, and there had been no complaint whatever as to the confinement—on the con trary, there was a constant increase of applicants for relief un der that system—( Hear, hear)—and the only complaint which he bad heard of was that of want of funds to work out the principle more fully. Mr. J. YOUNG regretted that the extensive influence and great abilities of the Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin had been thrown into the scale against the present Bill.— (Hear, bear.) He (Mr. Young) was not aware that any suffi cient substitute for a poor law could be provided; and after all that had been said and written within the last few years upon the principle on which a poor law ought to be based, lie believed the principle of the English Poor Law Bill and of the present was almost universally considered as the most per feet that could be establi s h e d. Th e H on. Gentleman read an extract from the report of the Poor Law Commissioner!, descriptive of the workhouse system in England, and said that similar establishments, conducted on the same principles, would r. be G of n3 tine s o greatestdisapproved f b e t n b e e fi t exclusioninlreland. f n the law of r s i e n t u tl s e l m y. ent he and ner l t i a e in t l h y o d u i g d h n t n t t ha a t pp it ro w v -o e uld nf o l p h e e ra m te ea m sn o r s e t ; in b ju n - t if it should go into Committee he should feel it his duty to render the details as little burthensome ss possible.—( Cries of " Divide, divide.") Sir F. TRENCH said that, notwithstanding the panegyric of the Hon. Member for Waterford, he hoped never t immuredtt h h e e i.i day o n . w inhGetenbnnt those 1 Gentleman a, prisons s e et O hn se ofA calledi e his m b le% fellow-countrym enr Shropshire, p a s g l iereed, with this measure ought not to be passed, at all events in its pre sent shape ; but as her Majesty's the case of the Canada Bill that they enable hoped that inm t something givein th i i t n g b s would p 0 r b t en rf ( i kaLrdll a(Laughter, t ts t h e . of r, which h e i h b s would \ - o n ul be l , would were squeezable he still and cries of " ' Divide, divide.") The House then divided. The numbers were-- For the original motion 277 For Mr. O'Connell's Amendment 25 Majority —252 The House then went into Committee, and the Bill passed through pro forma. Mr. JERVIS was understood to request the Noble Lord the Secretary of State for the Home Department to postpone theTarliamentary;Elections and Freemen's Bill until Monday. Lord J. RUSSELL could not comply with the Hon. and Learned Gentleman's request, as he hoped to be able to pro ceed with the Bill that night. Mr. JERVIS thought be had a right to say that the Noble Lord had behaved unfairly towards him. lie did not think it became the Noble Lord, not in his situation of leader of that House, but as a gentleman, to decide so positively against his request for postponement. Mr. SHAW gave notice that in Committee on the Poor Relief (Ireland) Bill it was his intention to move a provisio, that the relief to be granted should be confiued to the aged and the destitute. COIIMITTEE OF SUPPLY. On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EX CHEQUER, the House went into Committee of Supply. The following votes were agreed to :- 1. Resolved—That: a sum, not exceeding 11,413,7501., be granted to her Majesty to pay off and discharge any Ex chequer Bills charged:on the Aids or Supplies of the years 1837 or 1838, now remaining unpaid and unprovided for. 2. Resolved—That a sum, not exceeding 2,000,000/ , be granted to her Majesty to discharge the like amount or Sup plies granted for the Service of the year 1837, or for any pre. ceding year. The House then resumed. SinioniSiTi. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDA Y, FEBRUARY 10, 1838. LITERATURE. DUBLIN REVIETV, No. VII. London, Booker and Dolman, 1838. The besetting defect of this Review is, that it does no sufficiently consult the taste of the times in the selection of its various articles, which though interesting enough to a secluded student, or a sturdy church polemic, are—the greater portion of them—caviare to readers in general. They are alto too long, and not seldom deformed by mere verbiage. From this censure, however, we must except the first article in the present Number, which is a memoir of Pozzo di Borgo, a statesman who has been mixed up with most of the great public events in Europe for the last twenty years and upwards, and proved himself one of the most astute and quick-witted politicians of the age. This able adventurer was, it seems, born in Corsica, and dis tinguished himself in the early period of the revolution as a follower of the unfortunate Girondist Brissot. Soon afterwards when his native country put herself under the protection of England, he was raised by the patriotic Paoli —whom our readers may remember as figuring conspi cuously in Boswell's Johnson—to the chief post in the Corsican Government, which he held for two years. "At length," says the Reviewer, " it became evident that the tri-colored standard would soon be raised on the towers of Ajaccio, and Pozzo di Borg°, did not wait to witness the catastrophe. He embarked in an English man-of-war, which bore him to Elba, thence to Naples, and thence again to Elba. In th© course of his visits to that island, he be came well acquainted , with its localities, particularly the small territory of Porto Ferajo, whither he afterwards ad vised the Allied Powers to exile his antagonist countryman, Napoleon." A few years afterwards saw him in full posses sion of the confidence of the Emperor of Russia, whose chief counseller he was throughout that stormy campaign, which terminated in the occupation of Paris by the Allied Powers, and the consequent downfall of the French Em peror. Pozzo di Borgo was from the commencement of his political career the sworn foe of Bonaparte. He hated him, with the deadliest hatred, both as a monarch and a man. This hostility was reciprocal ; and frequent and strenuous were the efforts made by the conqueror of Europe to get his countryman Pozzo into his power. Entertaining these sentiments towards each other, it may be imagined with what feelings of exultation the latter beheld the over throw of the former, which he had himself so materially contributed to bring about ! The subjoined extract, which refers to Pozzo's feelings on this occasion, is replete with interest : " This critical conference lasted two whole hours, and the Corsican did not quit Alexander without exacting from him a promise, that no negociation should be entered into with either Napoleon or his family. No sooner had he obtained that assurance than he hastened to the pro visional Ministers, and, addressing Talleyrand, cried, in the fulness of his joy, ' My dear Prince, not only have I slain Napoleon politically, but I have just thrown the last shovelling of earth over his Im perial corset' Thus the Corsican mountaineer had the heartfelt satisfaction of finding that the goal, to reach which he had devoted the best years of his life, and braced every mental and bodily nerve, was, at last, fairly in sight. He attained it : his voice rang the knell to departing greatness—his hand dug the political grave of the envied Emperor!!! What an extraoadinary destiny attended the chequered fortunes of those two men ! Born near the same spot, and nearly at the same time, for there was but one year's difference in their ages, they both quitted their native isle friendless, in the broad worldly sense of the word, and almost destitute of aught, save their talents, and a stock of hatred equally shared between them. The first adventurer fought his way to empire, and proudly placed on his own head the most lustrous diadem in Europe ; but forgot, in his elevation, that kings should ever steep the contests of private life in the waters of oblivion ; and employed the plenitude of his power to crush an individual, then, comparatively, a worm. Failing to destroy, he yet forced him to become an exile, wandering from land to land, until the fugitive, gliding, serpent like, through each vicissitude still nearer to his prey, finally wove the net that brought his mighty foe to earth, dashed the crown from his brow, and crippled for ever his poli tical and glorious career. Up to that moment the master passion of revenge had concentrated in Fora° di Borgo every ardent effort of his mind, and the most fervent aspirations of his soul. He could now, like the merchant-senator commemorated by Lord Byron in his ' Two Fos cati,' have turned to his ledger, and written against the deadly debt long due to him, pagato—paid." In the " Religious System of the Ancients" much learning and labour are thrown away on a subject of comparatively little importance to the generality of readers of Reviews, and which has the additional disadvantage of being tho roughly hacknied. All that we desire to know on this point, we know already, and have known for fifty years and upwards—thanks to the profound, though occasionally fan tastic, speculations of the great German scholars of that period. " Principles of Colonization" acquaints us with some curious, though scarcely novel particulars respecting the present condition of New Zealand, in which the Re viewer observes, " nothing can be more shocking than the conduct of the majority of the Europeans settled in this country. In 1835 they numbered about two thousand ; and the example set by them to the natives was a continued course of the most disgusting immorality—of the most re volting crimes." The behaviour of the English Mission aries, however, who do their duty with unflinching courage, is, it scents, going far to neutralize this state of things. The essay ' on " Anglo-Norman Poetry " is learnedly written, and b y one who has a hearty love of his subject. It is, h; r w i d e p ‘'e s r , thesomewhatmt " in Animal N mal um Magnetism" grnaend justlytism''is, p e describes t his q uacker y as " an unprofitable reverie." Of a s curious u overdone.us article the few remaining papers the best is the treatise on " St. R ETROSPECT OF WESTERN TRAVEL. 3 Vor.s. Saunders and Otley, London, 1838. _ . c o brief,l n t r b i eust—a welcome Th e tone of these volumes is creditable to Miss Mar tineau's sense of justice and impartiality. They are penned spirit of ill-will nor of adulation towards the but bear the strong impress of truth in every n r ie a mi g ti F eci i sa v :•ork so written, and on such a subject, is no t about by Hall, Trollope, and other travellers of slight novelty, and will go far to counteract the many fal lacies se that class, who saw little in America to praise, but very much to condemn. Miss Martineau made a long stay in World, and resolving to take nothing upon hear for herself. She was told that it would he u r e o 'civ u g s ed f or one of her known opinions on the subject of to visit the Southern States ; but she was not to New Orleans, of which she gives us a n :r m a;l l : Y i ' c sketch. In this city she received a tbsdshlaca:en;geNajeruynted, and ventured into the very heart of the slave nevertheless she could not close her eyes hearty to the horrors of the slave system which beset her at e very Ulm. She was glad the re f ore to qu i t the place, and embarked on board a steam-boat, which carried her in ten days twelve hundred miles up that gigantic river, the Mis sissippi, the navigation of which is considered extremely perilous, owing to the sudden squalls that sweep in an in stant over the surface of the broad stream ; and the sharp logs of wood which lie concealed beneath, and pierce through the planks of the steamer. We quote a descrip tion of one of these sudden hurricanes : " The air was Wing blue and d glaring darn' , and close thi s n i ght ; the moon dim, the light incessantly, an d t h e woo d ashes from the chimneys very annoying. In well-lighted ca bin the lightning seemed to pour in in streams; and the thunder soon began to crack overhead. I believe it was about three hours after midnight when I was awakened by a tre. mendous and unaccountable noise overhead. It was most like plough.. ing through a forest and crashing all the trees down. Th e l a d y w h o s hared my state-room was up, pale an d f r i ghtened, and lights were moving in the ladies' cabin. The motion of the boat was so strange that I thought it must waken every one on board. In the morning I was shown the remains of hail-stones, which must have been of an enormous size to judge by what was left of them at the end of three hours. I was told that we had been in the utmost danger for above a quarter of An hour, from one of those irresistible squalls to which this navigation is liable. Both the pilots had been blown away from the helm, and were obliged to leave the vessel to its fate. It was impossible to pre serve a footing for an instant on the top, and the poor passengers who lay there, had attempted to come down, bruised with the tremendous hail (which caused the noise we could not account for), and seeing with the pilot no other probability than that the hurricane deck would be blown completely away ; but there was actually no standing-room for these men, and they had to remain above and take their chance. The vessel drove madly from side to side of the dangerous channel, and the pilots expected every moment that she would founder." Miss Alartineau's details of her voyage out to America are minute in the extreme,but not the less interesting on that account. She suffered little from sea-sickness after the first day or so, and was therefore in an excellent condition to observe all, and to report upon what she saw. So little indeed was she affected by indisposition, that she wrote more than one article—she does not tell us for what Magazine or Review —on board, a fact which deserves to be honor ably recorded, inasmuch as we believe it to be without pre cedent, except in the case of Sir J. Mackintosh, who wrote some of his ablest criticisms on the writers of Queen Anne's days, on his rwturn home from Bombay to England. Our authoress informs us that it had long been her wish to witness an Atlantic storm, and accord ingly after passing the Azores, she was accommodated to her heart's content. The American packet-ship in which she was embarked suddenly encountered a most ferocious tempest, and during its greatest violence Miss Martineau contrived to maintain her position upon deck. She fur nishes us with a most vivid picture of the spectacle that she there beheld, and expresses her astonishment that an At lantic storm was so unlike all the descriptions she had ever , cad about it. On landing at New York, she made but a short stay in that city—quite long enough, however, to enable her to make acquaintance with some of the most eminent statesmen in the United States—and then set out for the Canadas. Of course, she visited the famous Falls of Niagara ; and most grateful are we that she has spared us a long description of them—for, in prose or verse, these much-injured Falls are generally libelled about a dozen times a year. On the whole they disappointed Miss Mar tineau, which we can readily believe, considering how much has been said and sung about them by travellers and poets for the last half century and upwards. The most accept able chapter in our authoress's book is that entitled " The Capitol," wherein she gives us portraits of all the celebrated literary and political characters with whom it was her good fortune to become intimate during her brief stay at Wash ington. Altogether, her volumes may be considered among the most edifying, certainly the most entertaining, that have yet been published on the subject of America. CONFESSIONS OF AN ELDERLY LADY. Longman, London, 1838. We can say no more of these " Confessions," than that they abound in respectable common-place. Not a single novel incident is there—not one striking idea—not one glimmer of humour—from the first page to the last ; yet the work reads passably enough, chiefly because what story there is, is told without prolixity ; and more especially, because there is no attempt at maudlin sensibility. The volume is showily got up ; some of the embellishments are good ; and of the binding, we may boldly pronounce that it is unim peachable. UTOPIA AND NEW ALTANTIS. Richerby, London, 1838. A re-publication of two of the most curious speculative works of Sir Thomas Moore and Lord Bacon, with a pre liminary Discourse, by Mr. St. John, in which he displays much learning and ability. SKETCHES OF YOUNG GENTLEMEN. Chapman and Hall, London, 1838. This is an amusing volume enough, with a small current of easy humour trickling through it, which if it do not com pel you to explode in outrageous laughter, never fails to elicit a simper of satisfaction. The object of the work is to exhibit the peculiarities of the various classes of young gentlemen who show off in the streets, or in the coteries and various public places of the modern Babylon ; and this task is accomplished in a quizzical, good-humoured manner, that cannot possibly give offence. The author's first sketch is that of the " Bashful Young Gentleman," who is charac teristically pourtrayed as "fresh-coloured, with as good a promise of light whisker as one might wish to see, and pos sessed of a very velvet-like, soft-looking countenance, which is suffused with a crimson blush." Talking of a blush always reminds us of an Irish adventurer at a watering-place, who, if he be young and tolerably good looking, is apt to be the most bashful, shrinking, and un obtrusive creature on earth. This unique specimen of mo desty ought not to have been omitted. Our author's next portrait is the :" Out-and-out Young Gentleman," who is generally employed in a city counting-house, or solicitors' office, in which he does as little as he possibly can, his fa vourite places of resort being the streets, the taverns, and the theatres. In the streets, at evening time, out-and-out young gentlemen have a pleasant custom of walking six or eight abreast, thus driving females and other inoffensive persons into the road, which never fails to afford them the highest satisfaction, especially if there be any immediate danger of their being run over, which enhances the fun of the thing immensely. This species of vermin is, we believe, almost exclusively confined to Cockney-land, where it is of indigenous growth, and nourishes in high perfection. It may often be seen locked up in the station-house, or standing at the bar of a police-office, from which it usually departs minus five shillings of the lawful coin of the realm. Though a very noisy, it is a very timid animal, with a good deal of the cur, or rather of the spaniel, in its character, and may be kicked and cudgeled with impunity. Congreve's Captain Bluffe is a fine sample of an elderly nuisance of this breed. The " Military Young Gentleman" is one of our author's raciest and most felicitous sketches. " He wears his undress uniform, which somewhat mars the glory of his outward man, but still how great, how grand he is ! What a happy mixture of ease and ferocity in his gait and demeanour ;and how lightly he carries that dread ful sword under his arm, making no more ado about it than if it were a silk umbrella! The lion is sleeping. Only think if an enemy were in sight, how soon he would whip it out of the scabbard, and what a terrible fellow he would be !" This showy, and well-attired animal is for the most part a native of the West end, and may be seen lounging up St. James's or Pall-Mall, or standing at the door of a Club-house, on a fine spring day at noon, greatly to the admiration of the young ladies who may chance to be pass ing that way. When full-grown it sometimes attains the height of six feet, and upwards, and is remarkable for its destructive ravages among the fair sex. The engraving il lustrative of this animal is executed with infinite humour ; but indeed all the embellishments are clever, and work out the author's ideas with rare felicity. We have little doubt that the volume will be quite as popular as its predecessor, the "Sketches of Young Ladies." HOOD'S 0 IVN.—No. I. Bailey, London, 1838. The idea of re-publishing Hood's Comic Annuals in monthly shilling parts, is an ingenious one, and very likely to be attended with successful results, especially as the original embellishments are also to be added. The pre sent is the first part, and contains the admirable" Pugsley Papers," in which the grievances and sufferings of a cock ney family, who have gone to ruralize, and cultivate the picturesque, among the Lincoln fens, are narrated with a world of broad humour. Here too we find the " Letter from an Emigrant," who writes home to his friends in Eng land, that the spot which he has selected for his residence in Africa, is in every respect a delightful and eligible one, with the exception that the wells and springs in the neigh bourhood are all poisonous ; that lions are constantly prowling about his log-hut ; and that alligators of the largest size and most ravenous appetite, infest the adjacent rivers. Attached to this laughable jeux d'csprit, is an en graving entitled " Meeting a Settler," which represents a huge lion confronting an unhappy colonist who has come upon the grim brute unawares, and has nothing to defend himself with, except a small spade, which of course he has dropped in his affright. The man's face is capital. I-lis features are all awry, and his hairbristles up liKe porcupine's quills, with the excess of his consternation, while the lion takes things more coolly, for he clearly perceives that ho has no occasion to hunt for a dinner, having it ready prepared before him. The excellence of this plate alone is worth the sum paid for the whole number. -, ~,. ' . ;' ~ . ~~ LA RDNE S CYCL OP CE D lA. —No. X C IX. Longnum, London, 1838. The present volume of this Miscellany, which is the fourth of the Lives of Eminent English Statesmen, contains the Memoirs of Sir H. Vane, the younger, and Marten. The author is Mr. Foster, who has executed his task in a bold and independent spirit ; and in certain favourite places—such as the dissolution of the House of Common F I abruptly by order of Cromwell, when Vane was in the midst of an impassioned harangue—in a very vigorous and dramatic manner. Mr. Foster is a minute and enquiring, and so far as we have been able to judge on a cursory perusal, a scrupulously correct biographer. The admirers of Hume's chapter on the Commonwealth should make a point of reading these memoirs. RAND OM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. Br ONE OF NO PARTY, sth Edition. Saunders and Otley, Conduit-street. _ _ It is no trifling evidence of the interesting character of this work, that within about two years it has gone through five extensive editions. From the title it might be inferred that we should find the volume to contain only a collection of desultory and unconnected descriptions ; but however happy and striking the title must be allowed to be, and however we must concede to the author that his " Recol lections" have arisen in his mind at " random," and not in any laboured order, this much is certain, that he has ar ranged them in a very methodical and satisfactory manner. He commences with a minute and a complete description of the House itself—the old House—a description which is ren dered doubly valuable and interesting from the fact, that the House itself no longer exists, and this is the only exact record existing of its form, appearance, and, if we may so say, of its character. We speak, of course, only of the interior, for any account of the concealed architecture of St. Stephens would be quite foreign to a description of the House of Commons. In a note, the author explains t 9: what extent the description applies to the present House, and in what respects the latter differs from the old House:,. , 4e their proceeds to explain th e " F orms , R egu l a tions, the House, which he does in a most agreeable manner ; and to this chapter he adds miscellaneous obser vations which contain much amusing anecdote, and serve to illustrate the manner in which business is done, and the general character of the Members. " Scenes in the House" is an entertaining appendix to the preceding chapter, Thus in the first four chapters we have a perfect pic ture of the House of Commons generally, its Members, their manners, appearance, and mode of doing business—a pic ture so complete as a whole, and so accurate in all its parts, that those who have never had opportunities of visiting the House may form an exact notion of every particular con cerning it, which certainly they could not form by a whole Sessions' attendance in the strangers' gallery. The remainder of the volume is occupied with graphic and highly characteristic sketches of all the Members who were brought by any thing, or in any degree, prominently before the public attention, during the impm - tant period which the " Recollections" embrace ; namely, from 1830 to the close of 1835. The sketches are so grouped as to bring the original into the most favourable position for con trast and comparison. In the first group we have the late and present Speakers—then follow, in their several classes, the late Tory Members—the present Tory Mem bers—the Neutrals—the Ministers—the Liberals—the Metropolitan Members—the Irish Members—the Literary Members, &c. Throughout the whole work, the impartiality of the Author is conspicuous —and the vigour and expressiveness of his portraits are such as would carry a conviction of his powers of observation even to a critic who had not seen the originals ; and we, from actual knowledge of his subjects, can bear unqualified testimony to his fidelity. Of his style, we have to say that it is correct and perspicuous. PARLIAMENTARY ELECTORS BILL. On the question that report oftii; Bill be received, Mr. JERVIS, in rising to move an amendment of which he had given notice, felt that he owed an apology to the House for the warmth and irritation into which he bad suffered himself to be betrayed by the answer of the Noble Lord. Ile should now move that the Bill before the House should be re committed, with an instruction that, after the passing of the Bill, no sum of money should be taken by any Overseer or other person in respect to the registration of any voter. The object he had in view was to get rid of the shilling at present paid at the time of registration, and which was objected to by all parties. It was paid by the 50/. freeholder, the IN. householder, the freem en , an d t h e scot and lot voters. Th e object of originally creating thi s tax was, to ra i se a f un d f or the purpose of defraying the expenses incurred under the new system. For this qurpose the tax h a d b een f oun d tota lly in adequate. It was a greatinstrument of tyranny and injustice in the hands of the . Overseers, w h o in many instances con verted it into a prolific source of abuse. He believed that both sides of the House were unanimous in favour of its abo lition, and he thought the present Bill afforded a convenient opportunity to effect that object. The N o bl e L or d h a d stated that he entertained no objection to the abolition of this tax, but that he would introduce a clause for that purpose into another Bill. He trusted that the House would acquiesce in his amendment. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, in the course he had taken he was influenced by a sense of duty, and certainly had no wish to give any offence. If he thought that the motion properly related to the Bill before the House he would have felt bound in courtesy to postpone th e Bill ; b ut cons id er i ng that the motion had nothing to do with the Bill, h e did not think that he would be justified in postponing it. As to the amendment of the Hon. Member, he had no o bj ect i on to re pealthe shilling tax, or that which was called the registration shilling. When the Registration Act should be before the House he intended to insert a clause to get rid of this tax, which could be much better done through the means of that Act than in the Bill before the House. As to the amendment, that the present Bill should be recommitted, after having so successfully passed through Committee, ho could not agree to place the Bill in jeopardy by adopting the amendment. The SPEAKER put the question, and the gallery was cleared for a division ; but, on our readmission, we found that no division had taken place, and that the discussion had con tinued. We found Mr. BRISCOE expressing a hope that the Hon. Member for Ulster would not press his motion, after the assurance that had been given by the Noble Lord. Sir E. KNATCHBULL said that the Noble Lord had promised that this impost was to be got rid of ; but he had very little confidence in that declaration of the Noble Lord, and he much doubted whether he would ever introduce such a Bill as he had described. After a few words from Mr. JERVIS, Mr. WILLIANIS, and Mr. WILBERFORCE, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, the Hon. Member for Chester who had brought forward this motion, had certainly taken a course which would have the effect of placing those who were favourable to the proposition itself in the situation of appearing to vote against their own opinions, because they were apprehensive of doing mischief, and were unwilling to prejudice the measure. He trusted the Hon. Member would not persevere in a course so objectionable. Mr. JE RVIS said thel Right Hon. Gentleman had sug , gusted to him to bring in a Bill for the repeal of this tax. If the Right Hon. Gentleman would pledge himself to do so, he (Mr. Jervis) would consent to forego his amendment. Sir E. SUGDEN said that Hon. Members on that side of the House were always ready to support any reasonable pro position, and there could be no doubt as to the course they would pursue on the present occasion. If the Hon. Gentleman persevered, he ( Sir E. Sugden) would have great pleasure in supporting his proposition. Mr. C. BULLER said that his suggestion would be, and he trusted his Hon. and Learned Friend the Member for Chester would excuse him for offering any advice to proceed with the matter gradually, and not to jump at once into an excess of Radicalism, which, from the cheering on the oppo site side, appeared to be as near Toryism as possible. Mr. HARVEY was disposed to vote for the motion of the Hon. Member for Chester, and for this reason, that he did not expect the Gentlemen on the other side would remain long in their present patriotic humour.—( Laughter.) It had been said that the present was an unappropriate occasion for this motion. He conceived it to be very proper to introduce this clause into a Bill repealing a tax.--( Hear, hear.) He was astonished at a remark made by the Chancellor of the Ex chequer, accusing his uniform supporters on the opposite side of all invasion of popular rights. In his (Mr. Harvey's) opi nion, the best way to protect popular rights was to keep money in the pockets of the people, and the worst invasion of them was taking it out.—(Laughter.) He would vote for the mo tion cf his Hon. Friend. It could do no harm, and it might do good, by gaining the countenance of men who, on cooler reflection, might think they had gone too far in supporting them. Mr. BRO FHERTON should certainly vote for the origi nal motion. Lord SANDON rose amidst cries of " Question." We understood his Lordship to say that lie did not think the aboli tion of the shilling would be any obstruction to legislation. The cries of " Question" were here renewed, and strangers wera ordered to withdraw. The House then divided, and the numbers were— For the original motion 152 For the amendment Majority A conversation then ensued between Lord J. Russell, Sir E. Knatchbull, and Mr. Goulburn, during which his Lord ship stated that it was his intention to fix the third reading of this Bill for Friday next. BANKING CO-PARTNERSHIP BILL. On the bringing up the Report on this Bill, The SOLICITOR-GENERAL stated, that in conse quence of objections made to this Bill he had made some verbal amendments, which he trusted would prove satisfactory. It had been objected that a " nnmber of persons" was an in definite description; he had, therefore, limited the operation of,the Bill to co-partneries consisting of above six persons ; he had also provided against forfeiture in the case of Clergy men becoming directors, and also for future co-partneries, by the insertion of the words " partneries formed or to be formed." These, as well as we could hear, formed the substance of the Learned Gentleman's amendments. RATING OF SMALL TENEMENTS. On the motion of Lord JOHN RUSSELL for the ap pointment of a Select Committee on the Rating of Sinai! Tenements, the following Members were nominated :—Mr, M. Philips, Mr. Brotherton, Lord Viscount Sandon, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Bethel, Mr. Briscoe, Mr. Scholefield, Mr. Pryme, Mr. Slaney, Sir John Mordaunt, Mr. Burroughes, Lord Viscount Barrington, Mr. Lascelles, Sir E. Knatchbull, and Sir Harry Verney. CUSTODY OF INSANE PERSONS BILL. Mr. BA RNE BY moved the third readin g r , of this Bill. Mr. WARBURTON said that as the Bill still contained the clauses to which every one had objected during a former nage he had no alternative but to move the third reading of the Bill on that day six months. Mr. WA KL EY supported the amendment. Sir E. KNATCHBULL was of opinion that the Bill had better be postponed. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL concurred in the opinion that the Bill had better be postponed. After a few words from Mr. BRISCOE, the third reading was postponed until Tuesday next. The Sheriffs' Courts ( Scotland) Bill and Court of Session (Scotland) Bill were recommitted, reported with amendments, and further consideration, ordered for Monday fortnight. Mr. O'CONNELL gave notice of a Bill to facilitate the proof of bribery at elections of Members of Parliament, by compelling witnesses to make a full disclosure of the facts, and to indemnify such witnesses. Colonel SIBTHORP hoped the Bill would apply to her Majesty's Government. Lord MORPETH obtained leave to bring in a Bill to enable Grand Juries of the County of the City of Waterford to make presentments at the Spring Assizes for the year 1838 for the houses of industry of said counties. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL gave notice that on Tuesday next he should bring in a Bill to amend the law of registration of voters in England and Wales, and which would contain a clause abolishing the shilling. The oth e r O r d ers o f t h e Day were * then disposed of, and the House adjourned at Half-past Twelve. T L. _HE ATE MELANCHOLY FIRE IN GRAVEL LANE. —Last evening a Jury was impannellcd, in the Board room of Guy's Hospital, on view of the body of Eleanor Sweeney, one of the unfortunate sufferers by the late dreadful catastrophe in Gravel-lane, Southwark. The Jury having viewed the body, which was much burnt, several police con stables were examined concerning the discovery of the fire, and the Jury returned a verdict of " Accidental Death." The Public (especially the Ladies) are requested to notice the following :—To Messrs. C. and A. Oldridge, 1, •Wellington.street, Strand.—Sirs, I take the liberty of addressing my thanks to you for the great benefit received by my daughter from the application of your truly valuable Balm of Columbia. The hair of my youngest girl completely came off different parts of the head, and there was also a total loss of hair from the eyebrows. She was induced, at the instance of a friend, to try your Balm, and after using two bottles the effects were most surprising, for in a very short space of time the hair grew in a regular healthy state. I think it but justice to yourselves and the Public to add my testimony to the virtues of your truly inestimable Balm, and you have my full permission to give this letter that publicity which you think proper. lam yours, &c. ( Signed) HENRY HANNKES, Pen-street, Boston, Lincolnshire.—Oldridge's Balm prevents the hair from turning grey, and the first application makes it curl beautifully, frees it from scurf, and stops it from falling off. Abundance of certificates of the first respectability are shown by the Proprietors, C. and A. Oldridge, 1, Wellington street, Strand, where the Balm is sold. Price 3s. 6d., 65., and lls. per bottle. No other prices are genuine. N. B.— The public are requested to be on their guard against coun terfeits—ask for Oldridge's Balm, 1, Wellington-street, Strand, London. THE NEW HISTORICAL ROMANCE WRITER who has started up in the person of Mr. Miller, appears to have made a successful debut. " After Ivanhoe," observes the Literary Gaztte, " it became a dangerous task to weave the eternal human passions, and ever-changing manners, on personages and periods remote, for our sympathies are not so readily awakened for beings unlike, as for beings like our selv,s. Mr. Miller has boldly essayed this achievement, and produced an extraordinary work. He has put life and blood into the time of King John ; and, by resting his story m ainly on the barbarous ancient Forest Laws of the Normans, in which Robin Hood and his merry men of Sherwood arc deeply implicated, has presented us with much remarkable antiqua rian matter, whilst his woodmen, knights, barons, priests, and high. born damsels, carry on the stirring plot through court i, and camp, judgment-seat, and conflict, intrigue and vvassai just as it is usually presumed our ancestors in these rude days were wont to acquit themselves of their social, religious, rnl litary, and amorous devoirs. THE RIVER.—OPENING OF THE NAVIGATIO N. Thursday the river Thames below bridge was a scene of uni versal bustle and con f us i on a ll d ay . Th e t h aw of the pre cedingto day, and th e ra i n on W e d nes d ay n i g h t , h a d so far con sumed the fields of ic e th a t a num b er o f s hi ps were enabled come up the Pool, a n d enter t h e L on d on an d S t . Katherine's dock, and others we re ena bl e d to go out an d procee d on their n respective voyages ; w h o l e fl eets o f smac k s, bill y boys, and other trading vessels, got un d er way ; an d t h e steam ers arid steam-tugs were in motion. Ab ou t t h ree - quarter fl oo d several i ships, which have be en d e t a i ne d f or twenty an d t hi rt y days n the eastern London d oc k, were h au l e d out at t h e L ower Shad well entrance, and p rocee d e d d own t h e r i ver, severa l o f them in tow of the steam-t ugs . B e t ween e l even an d twe l ve o ' c lock the large American packet-ships the Ontario and Toronto, bound to New York, which have been detained for three weeks in the St. Katharine's dock, were hauled out and immediately taken in tow ; the former by the Albion, and the other by the Fame. The ice at Blackwell and Greenwich, which on the former day extended from side to side and filled the bights, had become so much loosened by the thaw and the rain, that it was brough t up the Pool in vast quantitie s by t h e flood ; and it was feared that the Al ion and the Fame, although furnished with engines of great power, would not be able to proceed far with such large ships against the tide and the ice. The two steamers, however, ploughed their course through it, smashing the ice as they went along until they reached Blackwall, where the stream was more clear of ice ; by that time it was high water, and they were enabled to proceed faster, and reached Graves end in safety. The paddles of both steamers are much cut up by the ice. Towards the period of high water the river pre sented a very animated appearance. MUSIC. THE NEW AIUSICA' L ANNUAL for 1838. Novello, London. A collection of songs and ballads, the words of which are by various hands, but the music is exclusively the com position of Mrs. Henry Mason, Authoress of the " Vocal Souvenir." Some of it is very beautiful, especially the air entitled the " Fairy Glee," which is appropriately set, and has much grace and variety of melody. " Narcissa ' is in a more plaintive style, and reminds us, by its tenderness and delicacy, of some of the most admired of Haynes Bayly's ballads Mrs. Mason has great skill and feeling as a composer ; and we know few modern collections of airs, in the ballad form, more likely to be generally acceptable to the lovers of music than the present. " ALMANAC PROPHECIES." TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. _ Sia,—A paragraph under the above head having appeared in your paper of the 7th instant, which accuses the authors of, and believers in predictions of the weather, of " folly, credulity, and superstition," will you permit me to say a few words in my own defence. It seems that " a Member of the Diss Mutual Improve ment Society " has stated that, " although the variations of the weather arc dependent upon a variety of natural causes, still there is a multiplicity of other causes so inexplicable that it is impossible for man to predict the future, it being alone subservient to the will of Him who rides upon the whirlwind and directs the storm." Now, Sir, as the " other causes " mentioned by this gentleman are not " natural," it follows that they must be supernqtztral, and pray is not this doctrine of supernatural causes the very essence of " superstition ?" I deny that there is any ground to believe that the course of nature is set aside, and that a miracle is worked by the will of the Almighty acting without means, that is without " ❑atu ral causes," on the occasion of any " variation of the wea ther;" and it is no proof of the " march of intellect " that I should be compelled to offer such an observation in the pre • sent day. What right can this member of the Diss Body of Philosophers have to call the suppositions of Mr. Murphy or myself " erroneous," without he has observed them for at least a few months, and examined the principles on which they stand? It is this readiness to stifle inquiry and examination which is the nursing mother of credulity, and foster father of slavish superstition. The world is not so very rich in the possession of scientific truths as to afford to reject without ex ainination any system which professes to be founded on a series of long-observed facts. The rescmt " mild tempera ture " I foretold because the Sun and the planet Mars arc now in the same declination from our Equator ; and I defy the Diss Philosopher to show any instance during the last fifty years wherein such was not the case, e., a high tem peratui e, wi ea the Sun and Mars had tl e same declination. This is a simple fact, depending, I believe, on electrical phe nomena, and whether so or not, by no means " supersti tious." All men know that, in one sense, every cause of va riation of the weather depends on the will of God; but this is no reason why science should not examine the mode by which that will is carried into effect. Nor is there any reason why man should not " predict the future," if he will but carefully record and examine the post - ; fur nature remains ever the same, and is only " inexplicable " to the ignorant and the superstitious. Your obedient servant, R. J. MORRISON, Lieut., R.N. Author of the " Mcteoro!ogical Ahnena':.." Cheltenham, Feb. 8, 1838. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. HUNTING APPOINTMENTS. Isier Majesty's Stag Hounds meet on Monday at Swinley : Wed nesday at Winkfield Church; Friday, at Langley Broom-12. The Duke of Beaufort's Hounds on Monday at Stanton Park ; Wednesday, at llawksbury Upton; Friday. at Hallarington ; turday, on the Lawn, Badminton—half-past 10. The Ludlow Hounds on Wednesday at Oaker ; Friday, at Ped lar's Rest; Saturday, at Onibury Bridge-10. The Herefordshire Hounds on Monday at 13errington-10. Mr. Meynell's Hounds on Monday at Foston ; Thursday, at Ednaston Lodge; Saturday, at Henhurst--half-past 10. Mr. Candler's Hounds on Monday at Westwood Park ; Wednes day, at Powiek ; Friday, at Croome Perry Wood—half-past 10. Lord Petre's Hounds on Mondayat the Dog and Partridge, Stif ford ; Thursday, at Woodham ; Saturday, at Upminster Common— half-past 10. The Brighton Harriers on Monday at Pate.ham ; Wednesday, at the Race Course ; Friday, at the Dyke—half-past 10. The Brookside Harriers on Monday at Newmarket Hill; Friday, at Telseombe Tye- 7 11. _ _ The CottesmOre Hounds on Monday at Stocken ; Tuesday, at Owston Wood ; Thursday, at Wytchley Warren—quarter to 11. Earl Fitzwilliam's Hounds on Monday at the Kennel ; Wednes day, at Old Weston Mill ; Thursday, at WTalsot Park-10. Lord Yarborough's Hounds on Monday at Irby Dales ; We-htes day, at Hendale Lodge ; Friday, at Utterby-11. Sir R. Sutton's Hounds on Monday at Carlton. le -Moorland ; Tuesday, at Kettlethorpe ; Wednesday, at Midge Inns; Thursday, at Foldingworth Grange ; Saturday, at Harpswell-11. The Cheshire Hounds on Monday at High Legli ; Tuesday, at Marbury, near Northvrich ; Thursday, at Crewe Hall ; Friday, at Beeston Castle ; Saturday, at Da.mliall—half-past 10. Mr. Leche's Hounds on Monday at Wynnstay—half-past 10. The Somerset Subscription Hounds on Tuesday at Raleigh's Cross; Friday, at Buncombe Hill—half-past 10. Lord Portman's Hounds on Monday at Stalbridge Park. The Tenbury Hounds on Wednesday at the Broomyard; Satur day, at Woodson-10. Mr. Heanley's Hounds on Tuesday at Turnby Wood ; Friday, at Tathwell Hall—ll. The B. V. H. Hounds on Wednesday at Toomer Farm ; Friday, at Burton Common. The Gazette of the Sandwich Islands, the estab lishment of which by an Englishman, with consent of the Sovereign, has recently been noticed, gives some curious par ticulars of the state and progress of these Islands. Honolulu, the capital of Otabeite, contains about 6,000 souls. From the Ist of July to the 14th of December, 1836, which ap pear to be the last returns of commerce for internal con sumption made up, there had been 154 arrivals in that port, of which eighty were brigs and schooners belonging to the country, fifty-six to the United States, seventeen from England. In the month of October last it is stated that 170 British and American vessels were employed in the whale fishery. For three years past the whalers have been accustomed to proceed, from May to August, to the coasts of Japan, where, it is said, whalers arc to be found in the greatest numbers and most easily caught. An idea may be formed from the advertisements in the Gazette of the sort of traffic carried on, and the civilization existing among the natives. There may bs seen announced on sale Madeira, Sherry, Bourdeaux, and Champagne wines, Jamaica Rum, Hollands gin, all sorts of dried fish, cheese, hams, &c. Along side these are to be found other advertisements of ladies' shoes from Paris, ices, eau de Colozee, pianos, sofas, Chinese and French silks, ribands, Cashmeres, playing cards, muskets, saddlery, harness, &e. A school was building on a large scale for instructing and supporting the children of the poor, in aid of which the merchants subscribed money, and the mechanics contributed their labour gratuitously. There was a benevolent society for the succour of poor and sick seamen. New brick houses were in course of construction in considerable numbers, and for the credit of the town only one instance of theft had been known for six months. Moreover the Government was negotiating treaties of commerce upon a liberal footing, as would appear from one of which a copy is given, concluded last November between the King and Lord F. Russell, who in her Majesty's ship Acteon visited Otabeite. The praiseworthy brevity of this treaty is a sufficient inducement to give it here entire " Art. 1. The subjects of Her Britannic Majesty shall have the right to establish themselves in the Sandwich Islands, there to build houses, and their vessels to import all kinds of merchandise. " Art. 2. British subjects established may quit the islands whenever they choose, and sell their gonds or possessions moveable or fixed. " Art. 3. In case of death their effects shall not be touched or examined by the authorities, but shall be delivered up to their executors or heirs, or in case of there being none present, to the Consul."